Episode Summary

Connections lead to surprising resolutions, as Susan and Edie are forced to spend time alone together when they accidentally lock themselves in a basement. Bree doesn't like it when Alex (guest star Todd Grinnell) indicates that she is emasculating her husband. Gabrielle loses control of her children and turns to Carlos for help. The ongoing search for Porter leads Lynette to her mother, Stella (guest star Polly Bergen). Katherine and Mike define their relationship. Meanwhile, Dave gets a step closer to exacting revenge.moreless

Connect to what........

this was actually a pretty good week i enjoyed susan and edie sharring some sscenes togther this week seems they have such a funny realtionship i thought edie talking about her childhood an her father was actually pretty emoional lynette once agian had the worst storyline it just felt to over the top and melo dramatic

bree had a pretty ok week with her fighting with alex gaby had a ok storlyine but nothing special her kids are pretty funny thothe dave storlyine was once agian weak tthat storyline is dragging on beond beliefoverall thoguh a good week on wisteria lanemoreless

Still gay Oh yes; well, considerably gay thank the Lord.

Still gay Oh yes; well, considerably gay thank the Lord. Andrew and Alex are at front and centre once again, albeit at the service of Bree's narrative, but at least it gives the characters something other to do than sit around looking pretty or addressing their sexuality. Choosing to have Alex be Bree's foil is a stroke of genius and one that assures the character's (relative) longevity... here's hoping Cherry chooses to go all out and gives us a delightfully subdued wedding for these two crazy cats in the foreseeable future. There's much else to enjoy in 'Connect! Connect!' too: having Polly Vergen return as Lynette's embittered mother lifts the entire production. She's absolutely wonderful, perfectly pitching her performance to convey the depth of her resentment and sorrow. While Lynette's decision to fake either a serious injury or even death is a somewhat questionable decision and one that doesn't seem to fit entirely with her character, Bergen salvages the entire thread by giving a painfully believable reaction that is guaranteed to at least put a knot or two in your stomach. The characters' subsequent reconciliation over a whiskey or two is also a nice touch, even if it is tainted a little by the ludicrous 'end' to the 'Porter is accused of arson' story (seriously, they just drop the charges?! That's it?!) Elsewhere, Dave's story continues to be thoroughly contrived... I mean come on, Mike just so happens to see him cast out of his home and invites him to stay with him? Ack. I'm still reeling from the revelation that it's bloody Delfino who Dave's after anyway so perhaps I am a little biased toward picking at this narrative's scabs. It just smacks of lazy writing and would have been far more interesting with a completely unexpected different character. Still, at least we get the revelation that Mike might just be in love with Katherine which, provided the writers don't screw it up by throwing Susan back into the mix, could actually make for an engaging, refreshing storyline. And speaking of Myer, her half an hour of soul searching with Edie is nicely played by all involved, veering pleasingly from comedy to fulfilling insight and back again with each scene. These two have such great sparring chemistry; shove them in a closet and throw away the key more often! Susan is now enjoying being alone 'for the first time in her life', apparently. I give it four weeks before she's part of a love triangle. Still, cynicism aside, a successful episode. Let's hope my fears about future narrative trajectories are assuaged in the coming weeks.moreless

Funny funny funny stuff

Let's start with Lynette and her mother. I am pleased to see Stella back on our screens - she is a great character and humour always follows. The scenes where Lynette promises to visit more often were quite emotional but I am glad to see them getting along - laughing and joking in the final bit.Gabby's kids are out of control in the most amusing way! When Gabby is trying to drag her daughter up the stairs and when Gabby is on the phone Carlos are fantastically funny. It hurt when they said they loved Carlos more - but then the man shouting helped!Susan and Edie locked in the basement led to some pivotal stuff - some good characterisation for Edie despite the fact we know her sad fate already...And lastly Bree and Alex clash in a great way. In the previous episode it was his mother, now Alex is choosing to be awkaward. The barbecue scene was funny and the scene where they were bonding was rather emotional and well written. Overall good stuff!moreless

Connection
Written by Jordan Nardino
Directed by Ken Whittengham

Susan: "Have you ever looked in your mirror, Edie? You're famous for the number of me you've conquered."

Edie: "Thank you."

Susan: "It's not a compliment, you tramp."

Just what the doctor ordered – a good old fashioned spat between Susan and Edie. It nicely reminds you of the first three seasons but mainly, it's a moment that raises some interesting questions about both women's attitudes towards men.To start off, neither of them really have the right approach but over the course of the hour some progress is actually made for each character, so hopefully them being locked down a basement and trading insults will have ended up being worth it.Edie opened the episode by calling all of her friends and telling them that's she broken up with Dave. She's done this kind of thing before when Karl cowardly dumped her back in the second season and with Edie, there seems to be a horrible consistency – she ends up with men who don't love her.It explains her somewhat abrasive attitude but at least she thought she had the support of Lynette, Bree, Gabby and Susan. To be fair, given how hot and cold these four tend to be with her, I'm not surprised that a few seconds of sympathy would then be replaced by their focus on something else.For this, the blame can be attributed to Susan. Not exactly strong on tact herself, Susan invalidates Edie's latest break up by telling everyone that she plans to move away with Jackson. Naturally everyone else is delighted for her while Edie sits there feeling like a lemon.I know the writers do portray Edie as somewhat cold but I felt sorry for her during this scene. Unlike Susan, whose constant need for validation from the opposite sex has become somewhat wearing, Edie had a genuine problem and once again, everyone else dismissed it for the latest episode in Susan's ongoing soap opera.Of course Edie's not the kind of person to let her anger simmer. Nope, instead she makes a point of ignoring Susan in front of Andrew and Alex and when Susan continues to pester her, Edie doesn't hold back on the sarcastic comments and Edie can certainly spew them out when she's livid.Being locked in a basement with Susan is a good opportunity for Edie to let loose on her rival too. First she rightly lays into Susan for killing her big news by dithering on about moving with Jackson. Susan doesn't do herself any favours by refusing to see the validity in Edie's reasons to ditch Dave.Here's the thing – Edie's reasons are somewhat good. Dave did lie to her about being married and his behaviour is erratic, so she's justified in perhaps wanting to ditch him. After all, if Dave filled her on his real reasons for moving to Wisteria Lane, she'd be calling the cops on him as well as a divorce lawyer.Susan however is a little too self-involved to get that so Edie has her own way of getting back at her. Last week, Susan told Lee that she couldn't live without a man and thanks to a list, Edie presented evidence on that established fact. Of course, Susan isn't best pleased with having her dating prowess called into question so she takes some shots at Edie's love them and leave them approach.Now the big question is – which dynamic is worse? If you're Edie and use men like tissues, you're going to end being a very lonely individual but you're Susan and you can't function without having a relationship, is that any better? Edie's attitude might not be great but at least she shows more ease and acceptance within herself. Susan on the other hand not so much.The funniest part about this whole thing is that when Edie tells Susan about how selfish her father had been to her, Susan starts welling like a sap. It's a great moment for the two of them to trade a slap and a push but when they get rescued, Susan is threatened never to reveal that secret of Edie's.The resolution however for Susan is more satisfying. She decides not to move in with Jackson and calls time on their relationship. Having Susan go through a few episodes where her love life isn't detrimental would actually be nice but given that Gale Harold is coming back; I can't see her and Jackson being separated for too long.Unfortunately for Edie by being open and taking Dave back in, she's set herself up for a fall. After all, she's only a beard for Dave's mad scheme to exact revenge on Mike. Let's face it, Dave didn't even make the effort to try and fix his marriage, although deep down he probably assumed that Edie would take him back.Before that though, he did end up staying with Mike for a bit. Mike's easy acceptance of him due to the fire incident would be sweet if we didn't know that Dave was after him but at least this episode did offer some male bonding.Dave was in the lucky position to find out that Mike really does care for Katherine and when Mike used a romantic gesture to stop her from moving to Baltimore, it instantly became clear that Katherine should watch her back. I don't really care about Mike and Katherine as a couple but unlike a lot of other viewers; it's still not angering or boring me as a plot device.One plot device that is interesting is the dynamic between Alex and Bree. Given that his porn past and trailer trash mum didn't put Bree off him, there would have to be something that would. There's no way that Alex would go by without doing something to tick off his mother in law.Like with the Robert/Nora spat in the Brothers And Sisters episode "Book Burning", I have to admit to taking the side of Alex. After all, there's a difference between gentle teasing and just being plain disrespectful to your spouse and Bree certainly veered into the latter category.Maybe Orson is one of those unfortunately saps that irritating sales companies take for a mug but surely Bree could've been a bit diplomatic. Perhaps it wasn't Alex's place to tell her to lay off teasing Orson but it's hardly the worst thing he could've said and obviously given how both Orson and Andrew reacted, it was clear that Alex had raised a good point.Of course Bree didn't see it that and tried to make a point of it during the barbeque. Throwing in the house offer would've given Bree some moral high ground if her motives for acquiring the home hadn't been selfishly motivated. She was after all trying to get one over Melina by doing that.The best part of this episode is that Andrew refused to get involved between his fiancé and his mother's disagreement. I'm really glad because not do I side with Alex but Andrew raised the point that Bree does have to deal with people disagreeing with her, which is only fair.However instead of starting a feud with Alex, Bree decided to be the bigger woman and admit that she can be something of a shrew. Plus she gives him something that possibly every son in law could hope for – carte blanche to call her out on her crap whenever needed. Carte blanche is also something Gabby gave to a complete stranger when disciplining her bratty kids this week. With Carlos back at work, Juanita and Celia's idea of hell is being stuck with Gabby for a prolonged time period. Of course, seeing as they take after their mother, there are ways of dealing with that.Firstly when Gabby asks you to do something, Juanita and Celia respond by a) not doing it and b) telling Gabby that they love Carlos more as a parent. Okay, even I felt tremendously sorry for Gabby there and while she shouldn't really use outside force to get her kids to behave, it did make for a funny scene.Besides all Reggie did was use a loud voice to get them to put their toys away and while Carlos finally got why Gabby needed him to back her up, things more or less resolved themselves. Overall, while Gabby's hardly mum of the year, her methods were tame compared to the usual crazy hi-jinks she pulls to get her own way.Speaking of crazy hi-jinks, Lynette's certainly form herself. This week she scares the holy crap out of Stella and Porter by using a car crash to get them to the hospital. Needless to say, she's fine but it does take her a while to get Porter to turn himself in. Personally I'm relieved this plot has ended. I really didn't want to have to go through weeks of the Scavos looking for Porter.More interesting however was the Stella and Lynette stuff. Stella might have had a right to be furious with Lynette but using Porter to hurt her was just plain wrong. There are some really terrific moments between Felicity Huffman and Polly Bergin and while it's nice that Lynette and Stella have seemingly made amends, can we please see the woman again?Also in "Connect! Connect!"The opening scene just showed Dave from losing his wife and daughter to losing the plot to marrying Edie in five easy steps.Edie (to Susan, re Dave): "It is when you don't tell them about it. Especially when I laid out my entire history."Gabrielle: "Emphasis on the word, "laid"."Edie: "See! Gabby gets it."Edie's phone call skills are brilliant. Four minutes later you have four relatively eager people to commiserate with you.Katherine (to Dave, re Mike's rose): "On second thoughts, I'm sure he won't even notice it's gone."Juanita: "Why can't Daddy work here?"Gabrielle: "Because Daddy has a new job. He's gonna make us a lot of money."Juanita: "We don't need lots of money."Gabrielle: "Hey, what did I say about that kind of language?"The actor, who played Reggie, played Clancy in Boston Legal. More ABC recycling I see and I mean that in a nice way.Susan: "Did you not hear me?"Edie: "I heard you. Why do you think I kept on walking?"Juanita: "You're never gonna make it."Gabrielle: "Oh yes I will. My rage is fuelling me in ways you can't imagine."Parker made a brief appearance in this episode only to get antagonised by a pensioner who thinks that Porter's got a face you want to slap.Edie: "Have you ever in your whole life been without a man?"Susan: "Of course I have."Edie: "When?"Stella: "That was a rotten thing, Lynette. I thought you were dead."Lynette: "Yeah, well I learned from the best."We learned in this episode that Glen passed away and Stella's drinking got out of control so Lynette put her in a nursing home.Mike: "I think I might be falling for Katherine."Dave: "Did you just use the "L" word?"Orson (to Bree): "Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you won't upset me."Alex: "I think she was referring to me."Dylan and her baby got mentioned in this episode again. It's almost like she's used to question Katherine's relevance to Wisteria Lane at different times.Susan: "I wouldn't trade places with you and you want to know why?"Edie: "No, but we're trapped in here, so knock yourself out."Susan (after being slapped): "Edie, what the hell?"Edie: "Don't psychoanalyse me you sap. I was trying to tell you how selfish men are."I thought Edie grew up without a father. That's what she told everyone back in "That's Good, That's Bad". Speaking of her family, will we ever see Travers again?Reggie (re Juanita/Celia): "When they're done, do you want me to make them vacuum?"Gabrielle: "If you wouldn't mind."Edie (re her secret): "Good because I'll deny it if you do."Susan: "I won't."The end scene of this episode had Bree/Alex choosing colour samples, Susan on her own, Gabby/Carlos disciplining the kids and Lynette/Stella drinking.Bree: "I need someone to speak up, to call me out when I cross that line and I'd like that person to be you."Alex: "Did my mother in law give me permission to criticise her?"Chronology: The same night as the end part of "Home Is The Place".One of the most liveliest episodes of the series, "Connect! Connect!" is certainly a great episode for all of the main ladies but seriously, the Susan and Edie stuff just stole the entire episode.moreless

Connect, connect...to what? The title of this episode doesn't give credit to the storyline.

So now we know what Dave Williams is really up to with Mike. When Dave rescued Mike from the fire, you really had to wonder why...since it was obvious he was out to get Mike. Great way to work it into the story to have Dave keep Mike alive, just so that Mike can suffer from lost love, as Dave did when his wife and child were killed in the car accident involving Mike and Susan...that fateful night. We see relationships develope in the episode...Susan and Edie in the basement, Carlos and Gabriella working together as parents, Lynette and Porter as mother and son, and Lynette and her mother...but nothing new for this series. So where did the title Connect Connect come in? Maybe in the future, I can connect the episode to the title. But for now...it is just another great show!moreless

TRIVIA (3)

We learn in this episode that Glen Wingfield, Stella's ex-husband, who was played by Richard Chamberlain in the episode "Distant Past", in season four, has passed away, which lead to Lynette putting her mother in a nursing home.

QUOTES (13)

Edie: I know what men are really like.Susan: Really? How so?Edie: Well, when I was sixteen, my dad had an affair...with this woman who had a ten-year-old daughter, and one day, he told my mom and me that he was leaving us for them.Susan: Oh, my god.Edie: No interruptions, please. A week later, he comes in the house to get his stuff, and my mom didn't want to see him, so we went to the movies. Now I had this, uh, horse figurine collection...plastic, glass, ceramics, hundreds of them. Anyway, we come back from the movies and my dad had taken all his stuff. So I go into my bedroom and something seems different. And then I realized that all of my horses were gone. My mom called my dad and screamed, and all he said was I was too old for them and that his girlfriend's daughter would appreciate them more. (laughs) I mean, can you believe that? What a fungus!(Having heard the whole details, Susan begins to cry)Edie: Oh, God. Are you crying?Susan: It's just that...well, now I get it.Edie: Get what?Susan: All these years I have judged you time and again, and...it is not your fault! Come here. (hugs Edie very gently) You are the way you are because of your father.Edie: I'm what?!(In reaction to Susan's statement, Edie angriliy slaps her in the face)Susan: Edie, what the hell?!Edie: Don't try and psycho-analyze me, you twit! I was just trying to tell you how selfish men are!Susan: And I was just trying to be nice and give you a free pass for being such a big slut!(Susan vengefully pushes Edie backwards into the boxes; the boxes crash down on top of Edie)

(Carlos is standing in front of a cab, hugging his daughters)Gabrielle: Carlos, what's going on? You're gonna miss your plane!Gabrielle: They're upset. They're not used to me being away.Gabrielle: Oh, for God sakes girls! It's not like he's going off to war. He's gonna be back tomorrow. Juanita: Why can't daddy work here?Gabrielle: Because daddy has a new job, he's gonna make us lots of money.Juanita: We don't need lots of money.Gabrielle: Hey, what did I say about that kind of language?(Carlos rolls his eyes)Carlos: Look, girls... Daddy's gonna be home tomorrow in time for dinner. You can call me whenever you want, okay?(they both nod)Gabrielle: And the best part is you get to spend a whole day with just mommy!(the two girls turn around and hug Carlos)

Mary Alice: (closing voiceover) At 5:15 that afternoon, Edie began calling her friends to inform them that her husband had come home. Sadly she never got through to any of them. Gabrielle never picked up, she was too busy watching her children being told they had to obey their mother and trying not to smile. Lynette wasn't home when Edie called, she was with her mother, laughing and sharing stories about the old days, and enjoying every minute of it. Bree was outside, showing her future son-in-law color samples for the home she had bought him and smiling politely when they disagreed. And Susan, well, she didn't answer because she was sitting in her favorite chair with a cup of tea, learning to enjoy, for the first time in her life, what it was like to be alone.

Bree: It's just that grilling is such a manly pastime. If I suggested that Orson somehow failed to produce the perfect steak, you might see it as another example of emasculation.Alex: I see. You're not going to let that go, are you?Bree: Well for all I know, telling Orson his steak tastes like charcoal might be de-balling him.

Edie: I asked everyone over this morning because I had this huge thing to share about kicking my husband out. And you prance in with your "me and Jackson are moving to a fairy castle".Susan: I'm sorry. I thought we gave your latest break up the three seconds of shock it deserved.

Mary Alice: (opening voiceover) It had been a long journey for David Williams. And, though it began years ago, he remembered every step of it. Walking outside his front door to find a policeman with news of a car crash. Running into the hospital only to be told his wife and daughter had died. Being dragged into a psychiatric facility after his mental breakdown. Strolling into a hotel, weeks after being released and bumping into a beautiful blonde. Marching down the aisle with the woman who, as it turned out, once lived in the same street with the man who had killed his family. But his bride was now unhappy, and Dave Williams was worried that his dream of revenge had been destroyed. Luckily for Dave, fate was about to take some steps of its own.

ALLUSIONS (1)

Episode Title: The title of this episode comes from a line in Stephen Sondheim's 1991 musical Assassins in the show's finale, "Everybody's Got The Right (Finale)". The full line is "Free country means you get to connect! That's it! Means the right to expect that you'll have an effect, that you're gonna connect! Connect! Connect!..."

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